Spring came early this year in Minnesota and we managed to get out into the garden in March to till and prepare the soil for planting.
On March 18th I planted a mesculun mix, spinach and kale. Temperatures dropped in April and we had a few hard freezes.
These hardy cool weather crops handled it just fine though and actually thrived.
In April we planted onions, carrots, beets, and green beans.
This is what our vegetable garden looked like in Mid-May.
The kale is very robust and I am looking for some good recipes to use up this crop. Please feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments!
The beans have already sprouted. We planted two varieties – Early Contender and Trofeo.
More garden views.
I have mulched between the rows with straw to try to control weeds.
Around the tomatoes, I put down brown grocery bags under the straw for an extra barrier for the weeds.
I love the garden at this time of year before the battle against the weeds has really officially started. It will never look this good again the rest of the summer.
So, back to the kale…
What should I do with all of it?
–Lynell
Feed the excess kale to the chickens? My chucks love it!
I love how your garden is looking! We are so behind here, still putting in the last of it, but according to Burpee, it’s not too late, so I’m still gonna go for it! So far everything that we’ve planted is popping up. Gotta love our MN soil!
No matter how diligent I am at battling the weeds, they always seem to win. I did add to my arsenal with the addition of a compact trator with a roto tiller attachment. It helped, but was still not enough.
My garden always starts out well, but as the season goes along I get a little lazier and the weeds get a little more robust. It’s a constant battle. The tractor with the roto tiller sounds pretty serious though for going after weeds! 🙂